2.31 Life; It's Self

        "The Divine Power that releases us from the captivity of Darkness is the Phoenix, the Light Inside us all. Life; It's Self." Mina ended her moment of meditation with more phoenix mystery. "A very long time ago" she continued, "before Medel and the Atlan Empire came to Be, this Yew tree was here, dropping its berries, creating the earth we sit on today."

         Zara knew it wasn’t true already. "How can that even be possible?" She interrupted. "If Medel is the Creator god then that would mean Medel created the tree!"

         "What do you know about Medel?" Mina asked.

         "Medel is the god of Creation!" Zara replied, knowing it wasn't simply belief, it was history. She glanced around the circle, searching faces for support, clues at least, but they all returned a blank expression, even Mata now known as Mira showed no sign of support. "He created Atalon. The Universe. He protects us from the cataclysms, from Aquilla... Medel protects us from evil! That's why we haven't had any volcanic eruptions or earthquakes lately! We worship Him every day, we sacrifice our very finest for Him, ALL THE TIME!" She could feel her voice rising against her will and shut up accordingly. Swallowing hard so as not to cry, self hate suddenly reared its ugly head, writhing inside.

         "Then who created Medel?" 

         Like a dart, loaded with fear, Zara shot a glare, but love was written all over Mina's face... Zara trained her gaze to the ground... Only to find her gaze landing on the last crystal of the giant spiral, embedded in the ground. She really didn’t like where this was going. Medel wasn’t real? It was a crime to even think it!

         "Hmmm?"

         Suddenly Zara felt like she was being pushed over a cliff, backed into a corner, these things they were suggesting had really painful implications. If Medel wasn’t real then would Orien still go to the Promised Land? "Where’s the Promised Land?"

         "There is no Promised Land."

         "What?" Images of Orien's blood dripping into the Golden Goblet were heavy salt in the wound, Mina was lying, this all couldn't be true… She had sacrificed so much… But she had also faced some very serious questions lately, now she waned to know the truth. "Is… Is Medel really a lie?"

         "The way he has been portrayed is a lie" Mina explained. "Medel did create Atalon" she continued, "but he is not the Creator God of which you've been led to believe."

         "He didn't create us?"

         "In order for your Spirit to escape the Darkness you need to know who you really are, you need to learn where you came from, that’s where your Power lies" Mina smiled kindly, sincerely. "And I'm not talking about Atlan, Infrastructure or Culloom."

         "The Lab?" Zara was interested now, she had been there, in spite of the trauma she wanted to know more.

         "The Lab was just an experience" Mina explained. "Your Phoenix Flame remembers a past that your mind cannot recall, for it is an ancient flame."

         Zara could feel herself becoming captive to these mysteries of what she knew not. No one ever spoke of things like this in Atlan. No one ever wanted to speak of interesting things like myths, let alone alternative creation theories! Taboo! Tabloid material! They would be scorned, perhaps even lashed, at the very least, ostracized from any social organizations.

         "This place is your ancient home" Mina continued. "Your flame once lived here, you can't remember but your flame does."

         Again, Mina's words were like echoes to the feelings she had already felt since she arrived in their illusory world, even though everything had been so wrong, it had felt so right...

         "That's why you're experiencing so much confusion."

         Again, Mina's words rang true in mystical ways, it was as if she could read her mind. Confusion? Yes! She didn't know what or who to believe any more.

         "Your flame is what led you through the tunnel, but your flame is a mere flicker, barely more than an ember, the flame is so choked by the smoke of the Darkness you are trapped in, it's a miracle, actually, that you made it here."

         "I’m not trapped in Darkness!" Zara protested, feeling the rage engulf her once again, unable to grasp the concept of being on fire or dark.